


trade baby blues, for wide-eyed browns.

by cooliohoolio



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Bad Pick-Up Lines, M/M, Mall AU, not bad for my first work in the fob fandom, who am i kidding this is awful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-13 09:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3376235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cooliohoolio/pseuds/cooliohoolio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What do you do when Pete Wentz comes into your music store and starts hitting on you with the worst pick-up line you've ever heard? You fall in love, of course!</p>
<p>(aka that one au in which Patrick owns a music store and Pete is the hot guy that works in the tattoo parlor next door)</p>
            </blockquote>





	trade baby blues, for wide-eyed browns.

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from g.i.n.a.s.f.s., bc that's not cliche and overused at all
> 
> also not betad bc i have no friends in the fob fandom rip me
> 
> edit//finally put in italics and changed a couple of things B)

"Do you have a map?"

Patrick pauses from where he's restocking CDs behind the counter, confusion blossoming in his mind when he heard the slightly-deep voice that was coming from the other side of the counter. A map?? What the hell?? He thought to himself as he turned around, and was surprised when his questioning gaze was met by a dark-haired man with warm hazel eyes and tattoos covering every spot on his arms that Patrick could see. 

What the fuck did this guy need a map for. 

"No?" He ended the statement with a questioning tone, as if to highlight his bewilderment, and _oh my god he did not like that smug grin that was creeping up the guy's face._

"Well, that's too bad, " The grin was replaced with an incredibly exaggerated pout, "Because I'm pretty sure I just got lost in your eyes."

Patrick almost dropped the CD he was holding. 

He tried to stutter something out, but blush was very steadily making it' way over Patrick's facial features, and that guy's shit-eating grin _was not helping, dammit._ The attractive man stared at him with amusement plastered over all over his face. 

"Holy smokes, oh my God," The strawberry blonde managed finally, after a ridiculous amount of embarrassed noises that sounded like wannabe-words, "That was awful and you should be ashamed of yourself." 

The guy's grin was still there, and he stuck out a hand for Patrick to shake, "The name's Pete Wentz, but you probably know me as your future boyfriend, " Patrick made a sound that vaguely resembled a laugh, but the guy-Pete, as Patrick had been informed-continued on, "Or maybe as the mall's resident Hot Guy. I go by both." 

"Well, Pete," Patrick tried to convey his annoyance in his tone, but doesn't sound nearly as mean as he wishes, "Are you also known as the Guy Who Holds Up Lines? Because If you're not gonna buy anything, there's a couple of legitimate paying customers behind you. "

Okay, so maybe that was a bit harsh, but Patrick wasn't in the mood for cocky jerks, and there actually were a few people behind Pete, so Patrick could be as harsh as he so wished. 

Pete put his hands up in mock innocence, an overdone hurt expression done up on his face. "Okay, okay, " Pete glanced at Patrick's nametag, "Patrick" The way Pete said it was like he was trying it out on his tongue, like it was a new toy or something. Patrick didn't like it. 

"If you ever wanna come looking for me, I work next door at the sweet-ass tat shop." His eyes danced over Patrick's bare, inkless arms, "You should come over sometime."

"No thanks, but I appreciate the offer." Patrick said, disliking the way Pete was looking at him like a blank canvas waiting to be painted. He didn't have anything against tattoos, but the thought of a needle within a 20 yard radius of his skin made him queasy. 

Pete flashed him a (almost predatory?) smile again, and began walking backwards out of the store, nearly knocking over a display of vinyl records. "See you around, Patrick!" He announced before exiting the store, leaving Patrick feeling as if he just survived a tornado. 

_What a weird guy,_ Patrick thought to himself as he attended the next customer (a middle aged guy holding a Beatles record that wouldn't stop bitching about pop music the entire time Patrick was trying to ring him up), _I hope that's the last time I have see him._

Little did Patrick know, that was only his first Pete Wentz Experience. 

-

The next day rolls around, and by then, Patrick's almost completely forgotten his encounter with the infamous Pete Wentz. That was obviously not going to stand for the aforementioned person. 

Patrick's humble life is once again invaded by Pete when he's putting out a new shipment of Muse records. As he places the albums on the shelf, he tenses up as he feels someone walk up behind him, slightly invading his personal space. 

"Are you an interior decorator?" The notorious voice of Pete Wentz says right into his ear. 

Patrick nearly jumped out of his skin.

The slightly chubby music store employee whirled around to face the beaming smile of the man who nearly gave him a heart attack, and fixed him with a glare that could fell nations. Pete Wentz wasn't daunted, if his smile was anything to go by. 

"If I was an interior decorator, would I be here, in a music store, wearing this outfit, the previously mentioned music store's uniform?" Patrick asked him sarcastically, incredulous to the fact that he was having to answer such a moronic question. 

If anything, Pete's smile widened. 

"Really?" The dark-haired man's eyes widened in pretend shock, "Because when I saw you, the entire room became beautiful!" 

Patrick groaned at the terrible pick-up line, but in all truth, this was just the beginning. 

-

Every work day for three months, Pete was in Patrick's store without fail, armed with an arsenal of atrocious pick-up lines. 

"Is your daddy a Baker? Because you've got a nice set of buns!"  
"Are you a fruit, because Honeydew you know how fine you look right now?"  
"Can I take your picture to prove to all my friends that angels do exist?"  
"Damn, if being sexy was a crime, you'd be guilty as charged!"

Patrick had enough pick-up lines to last him a lifetime, and then, like three more. 

One time, after Pete had walked out with that confident swagger he always had after he pestered Patrick with a particularly horrendous line (this time it was, " Would you grab my arm so I can tell my friends I've been touched by an angel?"), Patrick's coworker Joe came up to the strawberry blonde, snickering.

"Pete Wentz, huh?" The curly-haired asshat had said to Patrick, "You couldn't have picked a worse person to have a crush on." After an absurd amount of protest from Patrick about the fact he did _not have a crush on Pete where the hell did you get that idea from,_ Joe just shook his head and smiled. 

"I saw the way you blushed after that sorry excuse of a pick-up line, man. " Joe told him, causing a deep scarlet flush to fall onto Patrick's facial features, "What I'm tryin' to say is the guy flirts with everyone, so if you're looking for a relationship and not a one-night stand, you're not gonna have much luck." And then Joe walked away to go put away a misplaced pair of headphones. 

Patrick tried to tell himself that he wasn't disappointed by that.

-

Over time, though, Pete's pick-up line became less annoying and more cute and endearing. 

Patrick disliked that. 

Joe's words had stuck with him, and now whenever Patrick saw Pete's attractive face and heard his deep voice deliver a pick-up line, the knot in his stomach twisted a little bit tighter.

Patrick _really_ disliked that. 

-

"Hello, 'Trick!" Pete's voice carried over the counter, where Patrick was trying to pretend the nickname didn't give him butterflies. 

"Hello Pete," Patrick's voice was the epitome of a sigh, but the undertone of amusement didn't go unnoticed by Pete, who grinned him that grin that was beginning to make Patrick's breath hitch. 

The smile dropped off Pete's face, and was replaced by a more serious look that slightly unnerved Patrick. The tattooed man stared at his eyes, and to be honest it made Patrick uncomfortable. 

"No wonder the sky's grey today," Pete said delightfully, finally breaking the awkward silence, "All the blue's in your eyes." 

And then Patrick did something he swore the day Pete Wentz first walked into his store he would never do. 

He laughed. He _laughed_ at Pete Wentz's shitty pun. 

It wasn't loud, it was more like a small giggle if Patrick was honest with himself, but it was enough for Pete to begin glowing like he was a small child on Christmas morning.

"Three and a half months!" He declared enthusiastically, loud enough for Patrick to begin to shush him, "It took three and a half months, but I did it! I got Patrick Stump, grumpy lil' Patrick Stump to laugh at my joke!"

His reaction was much funnier than any joke Pete had told him, so Patrick let out another chuckle. 

"Okay, okay, you got me. " Patrick smiled at him, and in the back of his mind he realized that it was the first time he'd done that genuinely, "I laughed. Now what?" 

Pete's gleeful grin fell a little bit, and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I didn't think this far ahead to be honest. " 

Patrick debated internally for a second, then reached under the counter for a sheet of paper and a pen. He quickly scribbled his number down on the lined, yellow paper, then held it out for Pete to take. 

"Call me sometime. " Pete looked shocked for a second before he lit up and took the paper like a greedy baby getting candy. 

"Don't think that this means I'm gonna stop coming in here to tell you pick-up lines!" Pete called as he left the store, waving. 

"Go back to work!" Patrick called back to him.

-

Despite his promise, Pete did not come in the next day. 

-

Or the next.

-

On the third day when Pete didn't show up, Patrick was beginning to get worried. 

Pete hadn't called him and hadn't shown his face since Patrick had given him his number. The tiny little voice in the back of his head told him that Pete hadn't liked him the first place and giving him his phone number had weirded him out. Patrick squashed the voice quickly, the image of Pete's face lighting up like a Christmas tree in the forefront of his mind. 

"I'm going next door to talk to Pete," Patrick told Joe after one o'clock hit and Pete still hadn't shown up, "Cover for me?" 

Joe shot him a look that said something along the lines of "don't say i didn't warn you". Or something like that. Patrick choose to ignore him.

"Tell Andy I said hi!" The curly-haired man hollered after him as he stepped out of the store. 

The door to the tattoo parlor opened with a little ding. Inside, a bored looking guy covered in tattoos stood at the counter while someone in the back gave a woman a tattoo of an anchor. Patrick felt marginally out of place, with his blank arms and legs. 

"Uh," He shifted his feet awkwardly while he conversed with the bearded man at the counter, "Have you seen Pete Wentz anytime recently?" 

The man pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Haven't seen him since Monday," He replied in a voice higher than Patrick would've expected, and then he-Andy, as the name tag read- turned back to the guy giving the tattoo, "Hey Frank, have you heard anything out of Pete lately?" 

Frank looked up from where he was inking up the woman's arm and hesitated before replying, "Mikey said something about him getting into an accident Monday night." 

Patrick's stomach dropped. That was so much than anything he could've thought up. 

"I-is he okay?!" Patrick had to contain his inner freakout, shoving his shaking hands into his pocket. Frank made another line on the woman's arm before replying.

"Think he fucked up his leg a little bit, but nothing too serious, " Frank said nonchalantly, and then smiled at Patrick, "He'll be fine. Everyone knows even a car crash couldn't stop the incredible Pete Wentz." 

Patrick breathed a sigh of relief, but the negative voice was making its return. 

_If you meant so much to him, why hadn't he called and told you himself?,_ it whispered and this time, Patrick let his shoulders droop slightly. 

"Thanks," Patrick told Frank, and them he turned to Andy before leaving.

"Joe says hi." He informed him, then left, letting self-doubt ravage his thought on his way back to the music store. 

-

The next day, Pete was back in his store, albeit on crutches this time. Patrick's heart gave a small leap when he saw them, but it was quickly smothered by the wave of sadness that washed over him when he remembered what he had decided yesterday:

_Pete Wentz isn't into you. Get over it_

"I'm no organ donor," Pete said as he slid onto the counter, "But I'd give you ,my heart." 

Patrick ignored him. 

"Hello?" Pete waved his hand in Patrick's face as Patrick passive aggressively put away CDs, "Earth to 'Trick?" 

"Hi Pete." Patrick said aloofly, ignoring the way Pete's face fell at his cool tone. 

"You okay?" The dark-haired man placed a hand on Patrick's shoulder. 

He all but blew up. 

"No, Pete, I'm not okay!" Pete jerked his hand back like he had been burned when Patrick began yelling, "Matter of fact, I'm pretty confused! Why didn't you call me when you were in the hospital? I got pretty worried when you didn't come in for three days straight, so I go over to your tattoo place, and what do I find out? You've been in a car crash! Do you know how terrified I was in that split second before Frank told me you were okay? I would've given anything to find out you were okay from you! I-I just," Patrick took a deep breath and lowered his voice, "Was all this a joke, Pete? All the flirting, everything? Do I actually not mean anything to you? Was I the only one with a crush the entire time?"

Patrick drew in a breath because _oh my God he just admitted he had a crush on Pete in front of Pete oh my God. ___

'

Not exactly the brightest thing Patrick's ever said, that's for sure.

The entire store had gone quiet and Pete was staring at him, stunned. "I-I'm gonna be back in the store room." Patrick stuttered, whirling around and practically running into the back room. He disregarded the way Pete called out his name. 

(Did Pete sound regretful? Dissapointed? Patrick figured he was probably projecting) 

Here, among the unopened boxes of records and no people around, Patrick sat atop unsold merchandise and regretted lashing out at Pete. There was really no going back from admitting you had a crush on somebody.

If Patrick shed a tear or two in the process of all this, no one else was around to see it 

Patrick hid in the store room for a good two hours, debating on the pros and cons of going home early. He finally went out and actually did his job after Joe came back there and told him he couldn't hide in the unsold shit anymore and had to come out or go home. 

When he walked out, Pete Wentz was nowhere to be found. 

-

Patrick was given the task of closing up the shop that day. He let out a small sigh as he locked up the store, the quiet jingle of the keys the only other sound in the somber atmosphere. 

When he turned around to go to his car, though, he was met with someone grabbing his face and pressing their lips against his. 

_Pete,_ his dazed mind figured out after a second, Oh my God I'm being kissed by Pete. 

Patrick kissed back, cupping Pete's face in his hands and allowing his tongue to explore the inside of Pete's mouth. They stood there for a second, making out in front of Patrick's modest little music store, and it was the best thing Patrick's ever experienced in his life. The incredible kiss was interrupted by Pete falling off of his crutches trying to hold Patrick's face in his hands, and right onto Patrick. He stumbled before falling onto the ground, Pete right on top of him. 

There was a beat of silence as he laid on the floor, before they both burst out laughing. Patrick felt giddy and breathless, lying there with Pete on top of him. After a moment or two, the laughter quieted down, and Patrick opened his mouth to speak, but Pete beat him to it. 

"Okay, no, no talking for you mister, " Pete declared before Patrick could get a word in, "I came here to give you 1. that awesome kiss-you're really good by the way- and 2. the news that I really, really like you. Like a lot. I didn't call you while I was in hospital because my phone got fucked up in the crash and I didn't know your number. Also, I really, really don't like it when you sound worried and it makes me sad, so there. Now, help me off the floor because I'm taking you on a date and there's nothing you can do about it. "

Patrick hesitated, "One thing, though?" 

He could practically see Pete's heart sink.

"Yeah?" Pete said quietly, as if he was saddened that his grand gesture of love hadn't worked. 

"Is your name "swiffer"?" A smirk spread across Patrick's face at the sight of Pete's skeptical expression, "Because you just swept me off my feet." 

The look on Pete's face was priceless. 

"Did you just come up with that on the fly?" Pete laughed, wiping a fake tear from his eye, "I've taught you well."

Patrick joined in on the laughter because in that one moment, all was right with the world.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments appreciated!
> 
> edit** if you could [reblog the tumblr post](http://sadspacebear.tumblr.com/post/111235867335/trade-baby-blues-for-wide-eyed-browns) that'd be a+


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